Strength, Love and Legacy
by DragonRider122
Summary: Lin's milestones in life were all marked in one way or another by Toph. Never does a person live on after death unless they leave their mark on someone else. -Rated for safety-
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: Korra doesn't belong to me. How shocking.**

**Blame for this series of drabbles and short ficlets. Most of the chapters will center around Toph and Lin, but there'll be other people popping in and out as well. **

**This first one is very loosely based on the part in Deathly Hallows where Harry uses the Resurrection Stone.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"_Whatever happens to me, don't turn back!"_

The moment Lin said those words, she knew she was going to lose her bending. She made the choice to save the world's last airbenders, and regret is the last thing she feels. But now, tied up and trapped in the airship, her entire body trembles in pure terror. Lin shuts her eyes; years of self-discipline are the only things keeping her tears locked away. Unbidden she thinks of Toph; thinks of how her mother swore to be there always and protect her little girl. _Oh, Mom, I need you._

"I'm right here, kiddo." Lin's eyes fly open in shock; and there is Toph, crouching in front of Lin with a sad smile on her face. "You've done brilliantly, little badgermole; you've been so brave and I'm so damn proud of you." She lifts a hand, and Lin leans forward slightly so that Toph is cupping her daughter's cheek.

"Mom, I'm afraid," Lin croaks, unable to even attempt keeping the grief out of her voice—and she still has her bending; how bad will it be when Amon finally takes it? "If I lose my bending…I lose you." She can barely force the words out. The day Toph died was the worst of Lin's life, and the only thing that kept her sane was the connection between them that earthbending had built. To lose her mother now would suck the last remaining reasons for living out of her existence.

"That's a bunch of bullshit," Toph growls, yanking Lin down into her arms. "I'll never leave you, pipsqueak, not ever. Got that? Nothing will take me away from you."

Lin lets out a sob and buries her face against Toph's chest. "Stay with me," she begs. She is breaking, shattering into pieces, and although a part of her hates herself, it feels so damn liberating. Always Lin is strong, never faltering or letting her armor crack, and she is tired—she can't do it anymore. "Please. I….I can't go through this alone."

"Always," Toph says softly, giving her daughter a tender kiss on the forehead. "I told you before, Lin, I'm not leaving you."

* * *

The younger metalbender lies limply against her mother until the airship lands. As the chi-blockers come for her, Lin takes a deep breath, raises her chin and spits at them. Toph smirks in approval, padding alongside Lin as she is dragged out of the ship and into the pouring night. When she is forced to her knees, the nauseating fear comes rushing back, and for one insane moment she actually considers betraying Korra. But then Toph shakes her head and snarls "No way in hell, Lin. You tell him no."

"I won't tell you ANYTHING, you monster," Lin growls, feeling a rush of fury and hatred for this masked man. As Amon steps behind her, Toph kneels and pulls Lin into her arms.

"That's my girl," she says softly, and then the world goes silent.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: Korra doesn't belong to me. Shocker.**

**I came up with the idea for this from a picture on DA. It was entitled "Little Heartbeat" and it made me think of how most moms cry when they see their kids for the first time. It also reminds me of a line from the_ Twilight_ series (which I am VERY, _VERY_ ashamed/disgusted to admit I read) where Edward says he can hear Bella's heartbeat from miles away. Obviously Toph can't really see Lin, but I can picture her using Earthbending to sense people's heartbeats.**

**I might edit this later and throw in Aang and Sokka and everyone else, but that'll probably be in a whole different chapter if I do it at all.**

* * *

"Toph?"

Toph heard Katara's voice but ignored it; she was too damn tired to say anything, so she just lay there with her eyes shut and hoped Sugar Queen would shut her yipper. No such luck. "Toph, can you hear me?"

"Shut up, Tearbender, I'm tryin' to sleep," Toph mumbled, weakly slapping her hand on the ground. Nothing happened, which frustrated but didn't surprise her; giving birth was a lot of freaking work and she was pooped out. Katara chuckled.

"Don't you want to hold your new daughter?"

"It's a girl?" Excitement drove through her veins, and Toph quickly sat up only to almost fall over until someone stuck a pillow behind her. "Whoa! Thanks."

"Looks just like you," came Suki's affectionate voice to her right. "She has your strength, too. Right after Katara pulled her out, your daughter grabbed her finger and almost yanked it off."

Toph grinned. "Gimme!" she demanded, holding out her arms.

"Careful, don't jostle her." Katara gently laid a warm bundle in Toph's arms. The earthbender's breath caught as she heard her daughter gurgle and whine, and she instinctively held the baby closer. Something painful clenched her chest, and for a split second Toph couldn't breathe. Slowly, fingers trembling, she ran them over the girl's face and hair, ever so gently touching her nose and mouth and ears…and her eyes as well.

"Katara…." Her voice wobbled. "Is she….is she blind?" _Oh Agni, don't let her be like me, let her see, please, please!_

"Nope." That was Suki. "Her eyes aren't really open, but they're clear as can be from what I saw." In a gentler tone the Kyoshi Warrior added, "She's absolutely beautiful, Toph."

Something wet and warm was spilling down Toph's cheeks, but she barely noticed, so enthralled was she with the little one lying close to her chest. Taking a deep breath, the earthbender listened—and the most beautiful sound she had ever heard filtered through her body: Her daughter's heart was beating strong and steady. "Oh god," she whispered, tears making her voice shake, "I—I hear her heart….."

"She's perfectly healthy," Katara said warmly, and a moment later her arms wrapped around Toph's shoulders. "Congratulations."

"Have you decided on a name?" Suki asked, catching Toph's hand in her own and squeezing gently.

"Lin," Toph answered after a moment when she finally trusted herself to speak. "I want to name her Lin. Lin Beifong sounds like such a badass, don'tcha think?"


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I am not Mike or Bryan, and therefore I don't own Korra.**

** I decided to do a typical "teenage scenario" for this one after (here it comes) seeing some pictures on DA.**

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Lin's bare feet pound the pavement as she bolts through Republic City. The earth clamors under her soles, sensing her emotions and aching to help, to destroy whatever is threatening its master. But this is one thing earthbending cannot fix; nothing will close this chasm in her chest or fix the bridge that has shattered forever, much like her heart (cliché as that sounds, but at least now she understands why they call it "heartbreak"). And so Lin does the only thing she can: She runs. Her hair whips around her face in the wind of her gait, and she is able to pretend that's what is causing her eyes to leak moisture.

After a lifetime, after a heartbeat, Lin skids to a halt and realizes that her feet have taken her to the place she needs to be. Running in the door, the young bender ignores the greeting voiced to her and grabs her mother around the waist, crying into her shoulder as her entire body trembles in sorrow. Lin has shed tears before, but never have her sobs been this jarring, coming from some awful place deep in her chest. The same place that hurts so badly that running herself through with a knife would feel like nothing less than heaven.

"Lin?" Toph's voice rises in alarm as she holds her daughter close. Lin knows that Toph can feel the way her heart is pounding and the vibrations she sends through the ground. She can only imagine what that feels like. At the moment, probably a herd of stampeding ostrich-horses. "Lin, what's wrong? Are you injured? Lin, talk to me!" Frantically the older earthbender grips her daughter's shoulders, fingers digging into her skin.

"Mom…..Tenzin, he…..we…." Lin can't say it, can't voice the truth, because saying it would make it real. She sucks in a jagged breath and manages a whimper: "He said he loved me, Mom, but he lied!"

"He broke it off, huh?" Toph says softly, pulling Lin closer to her. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I know how that goes." She cradles Lin's head with one hand as the other gently rubs along her daughter's spine. Lin can't do anything but cry, holding tight to her mother as the entire world seems to crash around her.

"Is this…..is this how you felt when Dad left?" Lin says after an eternity, when her tears have finally ceased flowing and she lies spent in her mother's arms.

The way Toph's arms tighten almost painfully around her is answer enough.

* * *

Late that night as Tenzin is about to head into the house, he pauses, the wind whispering of a nearby presence. He turns, eyes searching the darkened shore, only to be met with the metal-clad form of Toph Beifong stepping out of the shadows. He doesn't ask how she got there, and she doesn't volunteer the information. Her milky jade eyes are hard as she says "I hope you know what the hell you're doing, Tenzin. If you were anyone else I'd smash you to bits."

It is a mark of her anger that she uses his real name. The young Airbender swallows hard and tries not to let his voice shake as he says "It just wasn't working, Aunt Toph." He tries to add more, to explain how he loves Lin deeply but isn't _in love_ with her, but he can't force any more words out. Toph frightens him too much for that.

"That's not what she told me." Toph turns to leave; she stands there for a moment and, without facing him, adds "You should know I'll never forgive you for hurting her that way." Then she strides off, leaving Tenzin alone with a heavy heart and a breeze that seems much colder than before.

* * *

**A/N: The ONLY reason Toph didn't kill Tenzin was because he's Aang's son. Otherwise he'd be dead meat. Nobody messes with Mama Toph's baby.**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I am not Nick or Bryke, so neither Avatar nor Korra belong to me. Le sigh.**

**This isn't a "milestone" exactly, but I read another story where Toph had a nightmare and was comforted by Lin, and I thought it was cute. So basically this chapter is pointless, shameless fluff. I tried to keep Toph in character, or as much as she can be when she's frightened out of her mind. Lin is about fourteen or so at this point. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_I really hate firebenders._

Toph stomps her foot on the ground, and earth springs up to cover her from head to toe, forming a rocky suit of armor. "All right, Princess Fiery Britches, you're going down," she snarls. Her feet grip the earth securely; Azula is dangerous and she needs to be able to "see" every tiny movement that the firebending prodigy makes. "Bring it on!"

"I don't really feel like fighting today," Azula yawns, and Toph senses her lazily stretching her long limbs. "You're such a bother, peasant."

"I'll show you how much of a bother I am!" the earthbender snaps, but as she prepares to move, a new presence enters her field of perception. Her heart stops. "Lin?"

"Mom!" Lin calls, but her voice is weak from across the field. Toph can sense that her child is tied up, arms and legs shackled together so that her bending is useless. A wave of anger crashes over the elder earthbender as Azula walks over to the teenaged girl and sets a claw on her face.

"Pretty little thing, isn't she?" the princess coos. "It would be a shame if her face were to get damaged, wouldn't you agree, Toph?"

"Let my daughter go!" Toph roars, fear and panic knotting in her chest. Her fingers curl into fists; she aches to attack but dares not put Lin in danger.

"And if I don't? I'm sure you can see me well enough to realize that all I have to do is move and she'll have a scar that will make Zuzu's seem like nothing. In fact, she may be burned so badly that she'll die." Toph can hear the smirk in Azula's voice, and pure, unadulterated hatred floods her veins. "But by all means, if you don't mind, then go ahead."

She is frozen to the earth, rooted like a tree. This is far worse than hanging from Sokka's hand off the airship; her own death is one thing, but Lin means far more than her own life ever could. To lose her daughter at the hand of Azula…

"I didn't think so." Azula removes her fingers from Lin's face and turns to the older earthbender. "I'll make you a deal, blind girl. You don't interfere with us—with my father's plan—and after it's over I'll let your little baby go unharmed. If you do, if you help the Avatar in any way, the girl dies." Azula chuckles. "Do we have a deal?"

No_. NO._ It can't be; she can't be forced to choose. Her friends or her daughter? Toph is trembling with betrayal, because either way she will be forsaking someone. The comet is mere days away; they need to stop Ozai quickly—but if she chooses her friends, Lin will die…

"I'm getting impatient." Azula drops into a bending stance, facing Lin. "Which one will it be?"

"Mom, don't!" Lin cries. She wriggles in her bonds. "Don't listen to her, you have to help Aang! I'm not worth the entire world."

Toph feels tears running down her cheeks. Her heart is leaping and beating wildly; _choose, choose, before it's too late. But I can't…_

"Very well. It seems your daughter has made your choice for you." Toph hears electricity crackle, and horror fills her heart as Azula begins to bend lightning. She breaks into a run, but it is too late, she won't be fast enough, can't get there in time…!

"MOM!" Lin screams as her body is electrocuted by lightning, and Azula is laughing as Toph's world shatters around her. Lin's heartbeat speeds up, impossibly fast, then slows…..slows….stops. A cry rips from Toph's throat as she falls to her knees, sobbing so hard her entire body shakes. _No, no, no…LIN!_

* * *

"LIN!"

"Mom, wake up, it's okay! Hey!"

Toph jerks awake, gasping and sobbing, tears cascading down her face. The sound of Lin's heartbeat floods her vision as her daughter sits down on the mattress. "Mom, you were dreaming."

"Lin," Toph sobs, pulling her daughter against her in a tight embrace. She buries her face into the teenager's hair and just holds her, shaking uncontrollably.

"It's okay, Mom, I'm right here. I'm fine." Lin presses closer, a bit frightened; never has she seen her mother cry before, much less break down in this fashion. "Hey, c'mon, you're scaring me here," she says lightly, only half-joking.

After a few minutes Toph stops quivering, and her hold loosens ever so slightly. "Hell," she says with a shaky laugh, "scared me too." She doesn't let go of Lin.

"Want to talk?" Lin wriggles slightly, tucking her head into the crook of her mother's neck. Toph shakes her head, focusing only on the way Lin's heart is beating, and thinks what a beautiful sound it is. Her breath whooshes out of her in a jagged exhale, and as much as she tries, she can't shake off the horror of her nightmare.

"Hey, kiddo…"

"Yeah?"

"Do your old mom a favor, kay?"

"Sure, anything." Lin pulls back to look up at Toph's face.

"Humor me and stay here the rest of the night." Toph feels like a child, but the image of Lin dying as lightning blasts through her refuses to leave. She draws the girl closer as aftershocks of grief flicker through her body, making a few lagging tears slip from her milky eyes.

"Sure, Mom. Of course." Lin lies down, back pressed to her mother's chest. "You should know, though, that whatever happened in your dream, in real life I'd kick everyone's ass."

In spite of everything Toph chuckles. "That's my girl."


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Korra.**

**I really have no idea what inspired this, but here it is. Just for the record, Taang and Tokka are two of my favorite ships, but neither of them work for me due to the fact that Tenzin and Lin dated, and were either Aang or Sokka Lin's biological dad, then she would have dated her cousin/half-brother. EW. Hence, the pairing in this fic.**

* * *

It was the morning after Toph Beifong's funeral and thirty-year-old Lin decided that nothing, come hell or high water, was going to get her out of bed ever again.

Lin lay curled on her side, long dark hair splayed on the pillow, eyes squeezed shut as she tried to lull herself back into blessed unconsciousness. She knew Republic City needs her more than ever now that Toph was gone, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Nothing mattered anymore except the dull ache that throbs through her entire body—not the city, not her family…not even Tenzin.

Okay, she _really_ didn't need to think about Tenzin right now, Lin realized somewhat dully as the pain in her chest grew sharper, sharp enough to squeeze a couple of droplets from her eyes. She let them fall; it didn't matter, nobody was around, and even though Toph's words echoed in her ears—_"Beifongs don't cry, kiddo_"—they didn't have the weight they used to. Clearly Toph never lost anybody important the way Lin just did. It was almost impossible not to cry—hell, she bawled like a baby in Katara's arms after the funeral yesterday—but while at the time Lin was mortified, now it couldn't be any less important. After all, she was going to stay in bed the rest of her life, so nobody would ever see her again, right?

Right.

"Lin?"

Oh, spirits. Lin groaned into her pillow as Aang called from outside. Maybe if she just lay very, very still and pretended he wasn't there, he would go away. Lin loved Aang—he had been like a father to her, along with Sokka—but at the moment all she wanted was to be left alone.

"Lin, I can take down the earth in front of your door, but I'd prefer not to break in."

Okay, maybe not. Lin growled in frustration and slapped her hand on the ground. There was a low rumbling noise as the wall she'd thrown up sank back into the earth. A moment later Aang's light footsteps sounded outside her bedroom door. "May I come in?" he asked politely, and even in the midst of everything Lin couldn't stop her lips twitching just a little. _Same ol' Twinkletoes_, her mom would say.

"Nothing's stopping you, Avatar Aang," she sighed, rolling over so her back was to him as he entered. The mattress sank ever so slightly as he sat down next to her and began to gently stroke her hair. Lin felt her eyes welling up but clenched her teeth against it. _I will NOT cry. That's what he wants, to make me talk, but I won't!_

"Lin, the others are worried sick about you. I spent almost an hour arguing with Bumi, Kya and Tenzin because they wanted to come with me, but I didn't think you'd be ready for so many people just yet."

At the mention of Tenzin Lin let out a bitter snort. "What, he actually gives a damn about me? I thought he'd be off with Pema 'carrying out his duty to the Airbending race'."

Aang sighed sadly, and with a flash of guilt Lin remembered just who she was talking to. "Tenzin loves you, Lin, but I don't think you need me to tell you that."

"Whatever," she mumbled, resolutely burying her face into her pillow again. There was silence for a while and then Aang remarked, almost casually,

"Your father would be very proud of you, you know."

Lin felt as though someone had shot her full of lightning. She sat bolt upright, twisting around to face Aang and not caring that he could see how red and swollen her eyes were. "M—my father? You knew him?! Mom—she never…."

"I know," Aang said quietly, gray eyes sad as they met her own bright green ones. "It hurt her to talk about him."

"Did he….did he leave us?"

"Yes and no." Aang paused for a moment as if thinking. "Your father was a very good friend of mine. He helped us on the Day of Black Sun, and his father actually invented several of the machines we used. His name was Teo, and he was a good man. One of the bravest I ever knew."

_Teo._ Lin sat in shock; she knew that name. She had heard it from Sokka and Katara and even Aang, and Fire Lord Zuko mentioned him once or twice. And all this time..."Aang, what happened?"

Aang sighed again. "He and your mother were married for almost a year before Toph got pregnant. One night, when she was only a few months along, your house was attacked by one of the gangs that used to run around—the Nighthawks. Toph was working late, but your father was home, and…"

Lin had a sinking feeling in her gut. "Oh spirits…" No wonder Toph never talked about her dad.

"Your mother wasn't the same afterwards. She almost never stopped working, and your Aunt Katara actually had to threaten her to make her stop before it started affecting you." Aang chuckled a little. "Katara was carrying Tenzin at the time, so needless to say there were a lot of hormones going around."

Lin smiles ever so slightly, imagining what it must have been like, and the muscles in her face feel stiff—unused. "That must have been a sight."

"Sokka told me later he'd never been so scared in his life." Aang paused again. "Lin, Toph was my best friend. I miss her too. But she wouldn't want this—she wouldn't want you wasting your life for her. She would want you out there taking care of the city—hers, and yours," he said firmly, giving the young Earthbender's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I asked her a few months ago if she was worried about you taking over, and she told me I was out of my mind. 'Twinkletoes, I'm a good Chief of Police. But Lin? She's gonna leave me in the dust, you wait and see. She'll be the best damn leader this city ever saw.'"

Lin lets out something between a laugh and a sob, and Aang smiles ever so slightly as he opens his arms. She hugs him hard, face pressed into his strong chest, and as his heart beats in her ear Lin closes her eyes. _Mom, I miss you, but I hope you're happy with Dad now._

The earth under Lin's feet seems to shift ever so slightly in response. _Make me proud, little badgermole. _


End file.
